It ain’t over till the fat lady sings and, just in the nick of time, we’ve brought you this fabulous collection of free opera trivia questions and answers! How many will you get right?
Opera Trivia Questions
1. In which country did opera originate?
Show answer
Italy.
2. Which Verdi opera is set in Egypt?
Show answer
Aida.
3. What is the name of the leading female singer in an opera?
Show answer
Prima donna.
4. Who was the first black opera singer to perform at the White House?
Show answer
Marie Selika Williams, in 1878.
5. Who wrote the opera Carmen?
Show answer
Georges Bizet.
6. What does the word opera mean in Italian?
Show answer
Work.
7. Which of George Gershwin’s works is considered a “folk opera”?
Show answer
Porgy and Bess.
8. Which opera did Verdi write based on the story of the King of Babylon?
Show answer
Nabucco.
9. Which city features the world’s oldest working opera house?
Show answer
Naples, Italy (The Teatro di San Carlo).
10. What type of French opera uses spoken dialogue and is set on a smaller scale than grand opera?
Show answer
Opéra comique.
11. Jacopo Peri is best known for writing which opera?
Show answer
La Dafne.
12. Who composed La favola d’Orfeo, a work that marks the beginning of opera as a major art form?
Show answer
Claudio Monteverdi.
13. Who composed the opera The Barber of Seville?
Show answer
Gioacchino Rossini.
14. In what year did the Sydney Opera House open?
Show answer
1973.
15. Which voice part sings the title role of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni?
Show answer
Baritone.
16. How old was Mozart when he wrote his first opera?
Show answer
Twelve.
17. On which epic poem was Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas based?
Show answer
The Aeneid by Virgil.
18. Who composed an opera about a mermaid?
Show answer
Antonin Dvorak (Rusalka).
19. Which opera concerns a court jester’s daughter who is seduced by her father’s master?
Show answer
Rigoletto, by Giuseppe Verdi.
20. What opera is the aria Nessun Dorma from?
Show answer
Turandot, by Giacomo Puccini.
Opera Trivia Quiz
If you enjoyed our opera trivia quiz, check out the rest of LaffGaff for lots more great free trivia questions and answers, including these:
